Regardless of how you view the Affordable Care Act, derisively called Obamacare, the congressional attempt to repeal it last week was an exercise in futility and politics.

After more than 60 votes over five years in the House to end President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement, all of which died in the Senate, Republicans in the upper chamber used a legislative tactic called reconciliation to prevent a Democratic filibuster and approve the measure.

There were just two problems:

The action was taken knowing full well that Obama would veto the measure and that neither chamber had the two-thirds GOP majority to override that veto. Nevertheless, even before the measure was sent to the president, Republicans scheduled the override vote, another exercise in futility and politics, to coincide with the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.

The Republicans voted to rescind Obamacare without offering an alternative, something they have been promising to deliver since 2011, before Obama was re-elected. Without an alternative, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the number of uninsured people in this country would jump from about 29 million to roughly 48 million.

But House Speaker Paul Ryan and other GOP leaders said the vote was intended to drive home the point that the Affordable Care Act will not be repealed until there is a Republican in the White House, and they hoped their move would help elect a GOP president.

“The people deserve a truly patient-centered health care system, and ultimately, ultimately, this is going to require a Republican president,” Ryan said. “That’s why our top priority in 2016 is going to be offering the country a clear choice with a bold pro-growth agenda.”

Was that choice not clear prior to last week’s vote?

The measure also included a provision to bar any federal money for Planned Parenthood, something conservatives in Congress vowed to do after an anti-abortion group released a secretly recorded video that it claimed showed an official from Planned Parenthood negotiating the sale of aborted fetal tissue. That is why the override vote is scheduled for the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision.

It is unfortunate that our national debates in this country have been reduced to such sophomoric activities. Although Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell touted the unprecedented demand for coverage under Obamacare, few people outside the administration would call it an unqualified success.

Premiums have soared, and options have declined. But the number of people without health insurance has been cut nearly in half.

If there were an alternative offered that continued to reduce the number of uninsured without the increase in costs and the decrease in offerings, even Obama might support it. Thus far, however, the only alternative that has been offered has been a return to the way things were before Obamacare. Going back to the future is not a viable option.

Voters know the differences between the two parties and among the candidates who are running for president. They don’t need their lawmakers transforming the halls of Congress into a political rally.