Republicans have been adamant: Democrats’ plans for reform of health care are doomed to fail. They insist they are right and that Democrats are wrong.

I’ve lost count of the statements that have come from Clarendon U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry and U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison pillorying their “friends on the other side of the aisle” for shoving this health care reform idea down everyone’s throat.

But I have this question: What might they say if the program actually works? I’m not predicting it will. I don’t know enough about the particulars to be able to predict the outcome of this titanic battle and the legislation that appears headed for law in early 2010. And I surely share their concerns about the cost of this bill, even though its supporters insist it will reduce the national deficit over time.

But again, what if it works?

Given the intense antipathy that Republicans harbor toward Democrats in Congress — and surely the one in the White House — I’m having a hard time believing that they’ll find anything good to say about health care reform, even if it delivers on the immense promises that Democrats have attached to it.

Who knows? We just might have to find a new definition for “sour grapes.”