Now that health care legislation from Democrats is through the U.S. House, what lies ahead in the Senate?  The easy answer is "a much longer debate."  The more difficult question is how long it will take to get to a final vote.

The House demonstrated on Saturday that a determined majority can use the rules to push ahead on a controversial subject, as the health bill was approved after only 5 hours and 20 minutes of official debate time.

Over in the Senate, 5 hours and 20 minutes is like an appetizer for the members of the Greatest Deliberative Body.

But even though the threat of a filibuster might stand in the way of Democrats, I was surprised by the number of Republicans who forecast that sooner or later, the Democrats will carry the day on health care.

"This is something they want desperately," said Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK).  "They will do whatever it takes to get it, and I think they will get the votes.

But if the debate stretches past Christmas and into the New Year, which is still entirely possible, then some Republicans see hope for derailing the entire process.

"I think the longer they wait and the closer they get to the next election cycle, the more difficult it's going to be to pass this bill," said Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA).

Democrats can't really even start debate as yet in the Senate, because they are still waiting for a full review of various options from the Congressional Budget Office.  Those are due this week.

The House and Senate though have a very short work week - just Monday and Tuesday - as they'll take the rest of the week off for Veteran's Day events back home.

That leaves just the week before Thanksgiving for Senators, before a week off.

In other words, the health care debate won't get cracking until December, and before you know it, Christmas will be here.

In the reality of time and space in the U.S. Senate, that is hardly any time at all, especially on a hotly contested issue like this health care bill.

Stay tuned.