Don’t worry, he only means procedural rules. Like, say, the filibuster. Which he spent quite a bit of time worrying about when he was part of the minority in the Senate, oddly enough.

That quote’ll look awfully sweet on a 2012 campaign button.

“I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about what the procedural rules are in the House or Senate,” Obama said. “What I can tell you is that the vote that’s taken in the House will be a vote for health care reform. And if people vote yes, whatever form that takes, that is going to be a vote for health care reform. And I don’t think we should pretend otherwise. And if they don’t, if they vote against it, then they’re going to be voting against health care reform and they’re going to be voting in favor of the status quo.

“So Washington gets very concerned with these procedures in Congress, whether Republicans are in charge or Democrats are in charge,” he said.

By “very concerned,” I presume he means that Republicans will sue his ass if he tries this. Which they will: Jon Kyl told Hugh Hewitt that there’ll be lawsuits aimed at both the process and substance (read: the individual mandate) of the bill, and Virginia’s attorney general went so far as to send Pelosi a letter all but threatening a Supreme Court challenge if she goes ahead with the Slaughter strategy. In fact, Mark Levin’s legal foundation has already drafted the papers. All they’re waiting for is Pelosi to pull the trigger — which, as I’ve said all along, I suspect she won’t do. Too many risks, too few benefits. For what little it’s worth, a Freeper claims to have contacted John Barrow’s office this afternoon to complain about the Slaughter plan and been told that it was dead as of just 15 minutes before. Something to keep an eye on if you’re watching the wires.

Oh, forgot to mention: The Obama quote comes from The One’s trip this afternoon back to “the scene of the crime,” the video of which we’ll have later. Don’t worry about this being a spoiler; the tension between him and Bret Baier during the interview should make it worth watching regardless.

Update: Via Radio Vice Online, here’s the clip from this afternoon’s Shep. The One does not look pleased.