The ACA was explained extremely poorly. I mean, look at the level of ignorance on this very board of college educated people about it.
There are still people on this board who think it creates some incentive to small businesses to drop health insurance coverage for their employees. It does not.
There are still people on this board who think the individual mandate will increase the cost of insurance to those that currently have it. It does not.
There are still people on this board who think that the cost of paying the penalty/tax is passed on to the employer. It isn't.
The heart of the individual mandate is to force people who use the system but are not paying for their use of it to pony up some dough and at least minimize the shifting of the cost of their care to those of us who pay for our care, either directly or through insurance.
That is a decidedly Republican ideal.
Just ask Mitt Romney.