Nonetheless, critics of the bill are quick to point out that CBO estimates assume that certain politically unpopular measures - cuts to Medicare and taxes on the "Cadillac" health care plans, often held by union members - will be made. If not, the bills will "substantially increase the deficit," in the words of Megan McArdle, a columnist for the Atlantic, writing online for the Washington Post on Sunday.

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On Monday morning, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told CBS's "The Early Show" that once people learn more about the legislation, and despite a campaign to "confuse and scare Americans," they'll like it.

Others are not so sure. McArdle, a writer with libertarian views, worries that the bill's 3.8 tax on investments will cut into innovation - and raise rents.

"It's pretty distressing that they've chosen to fund so much of this through capital income - the new 4% surcharge on royalties, rents, interest and dividends. There's a reason that even countries like Sweden tend to go light on their capital taxes; capital is mobile, and it's easy to chase away," she writes for the Post.

She emphasizes that the tax hike won't just stick it to the rich, either. "Renters will be glad to know that as soon as it takes effect, that 4% tax increase is probably going to show up as an increase in your annual rent, above and beyond whatever increase they were already planning," she adds.

Some progressives aren't much happier. Blogger Chris Crotty, a political campaigner who writes for San Diego News Network, argues that the bill "will have little or no affect on the vast majority of U.S. citizens."

"Calling the legislation 'health care reform' is a misnomer," he writes in his online column on Monday. "What the bill achieved was minor meddling with health insurance."

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