Axelrod: Obamacare Needs Perfecting 'Along the Way'

Former White House political adviser David Axelrod said Friday that Obamacare will need more perfecting "along the way" once full implementation of the healthcare reform program begins in January.

"There's no doubt that this law is going to have to be perfected along the way. They're going to have to make adjustments along the way," Axelrod, who helped engineer President Barack Obama's two presidential election wins, said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe.

He insisted the administration is "not violating the spirit of the law" by delaying some elements of the initiative.

The Democratic political adviser, now a contributor to MSNBC, was responding to complaints that delays of certain provisions in the law announced by the White House are illegal, including the postponement of the employer mandate requiring companies with more than 50 employees to provide coverage.

"For all those people who say what he's doing is lawless — we hear this from members of Congress, 'It's illegal. He's violating the Constitution,' and so on. "Why don't they angle on down to the courthouse and test that proposition, if they're so confident about that?" Axelrod challenged on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

"Any time you implement something like this, it's new and there's no doubt that it's complicated. There will be changes along the way. There should be changes along the way," he continued.

"But the worst mistake that [President Obama] could make would be to come up short on the thing. I believe that the upside is going to be greater than people believe."