It's time for our elected leaders to get off the pot - the health care reform pot, that is.

As President Barack Obama made a few final concessions to Republicans who have shown no willingness to work with him as they pledged, it now appears that members of the president's own party might be the ones to derail his efforts to bring health care reform to the people.

The measure passed the House last year with just five votes to spare, and some Democrats facing voters in November have been making noises about voting down the measure that has tracked poorly in public opinion polls.

Either way, it's time for Congress to do what we employ them to do and make a decision.

Though you won't hear the president or Republicans admit it, the truth is that it is impossible to say with any certainty whether the massive overhaul of the health care system will work.

A trillion dollar-plus makeover of a country's entire health care landscape in a huge, sweeping package of laws and regulations is uncharted territory.

But we can talk about how each side has conducted themselves during this year-long process. and it is the president who has taken the high road during the negotiations.

Even though he had the numbers in both the House and the Senate, the president kept his word and made Republican-sponsored changes to the final version of the legislation. Obama also pulled the public option from the legislation, even though it angered many in his party.

It is the Republicans who have obstructed the process at every turn. If they have legitimate problems with the bill, fine. But then propose something of your own. They haven't and most Americans see through that.

But trying to block any movement on Obama's agenda is clearly part of the overall Republican strategy for winning back Congress and ultimately the White House.

The Associated Press released an analysis this week, showing that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell used the Senate rule called "cloture" that effectively limits debate on a proposal more frequently and on a broader array of issues than anyone in the history of the Senate.

On health care reform and other presidential priorities, Republicans clearly want to bring Washington to a standstill and point Obama's way when people get mad for the inaction.

It's a policy to get control of Congress - advancing the country be damned.