Reconciliation is not the same as the Nuclear Option.  It is a part of the  budget process designed to raise or lower revenue or spending.  It was never designed as a way to override rules to get controversial laws or policy passed.  It was designed as a budgetary process.  Thus not dealing with policy, but funding.  Setting aside the philosophical and moral issues, a reconciliation of a bill cannot be considered unless a bill has first been approved.

For reconciliation to even be considered the house must first pass the senate’s Christmas Eve version of the health care bill.  Then a reconciliation of a different sort from which reconciliation was originally intended could happen.  The Senate bill includes the pork barrel spending deal for Nebraska, Louisiana and Connecticut plus language rejecting abortion funding and more.

Senate Parliamentarian, is an unelected office filled at the will of the majority party.  Alan Frumin is a highly respected lawyer and has served both democratic and republican majorities as parliamentarian.  It is his job to decide points of order.  They can be waived with 60 votes.  Any number of objections can be raised not necessarily related to the (health care) issue.   

Republicans are keeping a tight fist on their strategy.  Amendments can be offered and democrats could find their amendments hard to oppose.  The democrat’s ace in the hole is Joe Biden.  The presiding senate officer can overrule the parliamentarian.  Biden could be another Humphrey Humphrey.  Both were long time senate members and comfortable with their power.

As you can see this is a very complicated subject and this is just one straw in the haystack.  There are many other possibilities for republicans to challenge this bill's passage and many other ways for democrats to plow ahead.