( CNN ) -- For Mitt Romney , it 's not just a question -- it 's more like a campaign illness he 'd like to cure once and for all . `` I was hoping I would be asked that question . Great . It 's about time , '' Romney joked at a recent GOP forum in New Hampshire . The question , of course , was about the health care reform bill Romney signed into law as governor of Massachusetts in 2006 . `` Ours is an experiment . Some parts did n't work , '' he explained to the crowd . What many tea party conservatives ca n't stand about the Massachusetts health care law dubbed `` Romneycare '' is the plan 's individual mandate that requires people in that state to buy medical insurance or pay a tax penalty . The Wall Street Journal in an editorial on Thursday slammed Romney 's reluctance to reject the individual mandate . `` If he does not change his message , he might as well try to knock off Joe Biden and get on the Obama ticket , '' the newspaper wrote . Republicans and Democrats alike see `` Romneycare '' as the prototype for what conservatives deride as `` Obamacare . '' A similar mandate in the president 's health care law is being challenged in federal courts . It 's a tight box for Romney : He must convince his fellow Republicans to look past the very health care reform provision that 's at the heart of those court challenges . `` The individual mandate is a deal-breaker . People do not want to see government dictating that they purchase what is a private product . We think that 's a disaster , '' said Tim Phillips , president of Americans for Prosperity . The group is a prominent tea party organizer that also happens to be led by libertarian billionaire David Koch . Phillips is one of countless tea party activists who want to hear Romney reject the mandate . `` I think it will be difficult for a lot of voters to get around if the individual mandate is not repudiated , '' Phillips said . That would be tricky for Romney who has repeatedly defended such mandates as a way to get the uninsured into the health care system . `` In order to get the tax exemption that you would normally get , you have to have health insurance because we want everyone in the system . No more free riders , '' Romney said in a 2009 interview with CNN . In the same interview , Romney suggested that parts of the Massachusetts experiment could serve as a model for national health care reform . `` I think there are a number of features in the Massachusetts plan that could inform Washington on ways to improve health care for all Americans , '' Romney said . Democrats have quotes like that cued up for the 2012 campaign . In a February speech to the National Governors Association , Obama announced his administration 's plan to give states more flexibility in implementing the new national health care law . The president worked in a dig at Romney . `` I agree with Mitt Romney , who recently said he 's proud of what he accomplished on health care in Massachusetts and supports giving states the power to determine their own health care solutions . He 's right , '' Obama said . `` Mr. President , why did n't you call and ask how it worked , '' Romney responded at that GOP forum in New Hampshire . It will be a hard sell for Republicans . Former Arkansas governor and potential 2012 rival Mike Huckabee has described `` Romneycare '' as `` socialized medicine . '' Romney has said repeatedly the Massachusetts law is not perfect . In speech after speech , the former governor has claimed the plan was never intended as a `` one-size fits all '' program for the country . `` We should learn from what 's working and what 's not working in Massachusetts , '' Romney told CNN in 2009 . The former governor , who has yet to declare his candidacy for 2012 , has a new health care plan that he is to release Thursday . It would repeal and replace the national health care law . Instead , states would be allowed to conduct their own experiments in health care reform . It 's a potentially defining issue for a campaign that has n't officially launched . `` Somehow he 's got to convince the tea party people that he 's learned from his mistake without admitting he made a mistake . Good luck , '' said Larry Sabato with the University of Virginia Center for Politics . Romney 's staff says do n't expect an apology for `` Romneycare . '' After all , this is a man whose latest book is entitled `` No Apology . ''
GOP is the former governor of Arkansas and one GOP presidential nominee . Romney is under fire for a health care plan he signed into law as governor . Democrats and Republicans see `` Romneycare '' as the prototype for what conservatives deride as `` Obamacare ''