WASHINGTON The GOP health care bill is not dead at least not officially.

Just hours before a promised Tuesday vote on a motion to proceed, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was still working behind the scenes to win the support he needs to begin debating a Republican health care bill.

Republican health care bill is all we know. After years of complaints about the process Democrats used to pass Obamacare, Republican senators intend to open debate without a single hearing, without a single markup, and without clear knowledge of what theyll be voting on .

Republicans spent time Monday night defending that process. GOP leadership member John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said it was absolutely appropriate for Republicans to proceed, even without knowing the effects of a key part of their bill and whether it will take 60 votes to pass. When HuffPost asked Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) if the process was really better than that used by Democrats to pass Obamacare , Corker said: Well see. And Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), answering the same question, said he would just like to see a bill passed.

The plan was for Republicans to vote Tuesday afternoon on a motion to proceed to the House-passed legislation. If that motion passes, Republicans could then put up amendments to replace that measure entirely. A repeal-only bill, a revised replacement bill, and legislation to give states the power to decide Obamacare all were expected to get a vote.

It wasnt clear, however, what the text of those bills would look like, whether the provisions would survive the Senates Byrd rule , and the biggest question of all whether McConnell has the votes for passage.

Amazingly, the GOP plan just might work at winning Republican support an accomplishment for McConnell at this point.

The biggest news Monday night was that Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) would return to the Capitol on Tuesday for the motion to proceed. Its hard to imagine GOP leadership bringing McCain back after last weeks surgery if they didnt think his vote would be decisive, though McConnell may be trying to rally Republicans by using McCains presence. (Who wants to be the GOP senator who made McCain risk his health to fly across the country to cast an irrelevant vote?)

If McConnell can pull off this feat of beginning debate, no one should count out the Senate leader in getting a bill back to the House. But even if he gets 50 votes for the motion to proceed, McConnell will still face trouble passing a bill. Every previous version has had strong opposition from at least three GOP senators enough to sink the bill.

McConnell still has roughly $200 billion to dole out to win over reluctant Republicans. And if the Senate begins an amendment process, it wouldnt be far-fetched to see lawmakers negotiating until they craft something that could get 50 votes (with Vice President Mike Pence breaking the tie).