“When your opponent is committing suicide, don’t shoot him.” That’s advice Speaker John Boehner frequently offers to House Republicans, and it appears especially timely in the GOP battle to defeat Obamacare.

Amid the drip-drip-drip of problems surrounding the Affordable Care Act, House Republicans appear to be seriously considering the notion that the best course may be to pipe down and allow Obamacare supporters to continue bleeding.

“To put it in context, we should just try to get out of our own damn way for now,” said one House GOP leadership aide.

House members left Washington on Thursday and are out this week, giving lawmakers extended time in their districts for constituent services. The timing is perfect for House Republican leaders, who have grown wary of distracting the public from Obamacare’s wobbly rollout with GOP attacks on the law.

The strategy is a stark contrast to the bombastic tone Republicans struck fighting the law to the point of a government shutdown, and then beyond. And, according to some lawmakers, there was discussion among House members about cancelling the break and staying in Washington to continue hammering the health care law.