Afghanistan: Seven Million Sign Up for Health-Care Coverage, White House Says --- WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama on Tuesday said 7.1 million people signed up for health insurance despite early stumbles with the health website, and warned critics that continued efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act will backfire. -- "The debate over repealing this law is over—the Affordable Care Act is here to stay," Mr. Obama said from the White House Rose Garden one day after the deadline for open enrollment. -- The president defended the law more aggressively than he had in months, with new numbers showing the administration reached its goal of enrolling more than seven million people. He also lashed out at lawmakers' repeal effort, which has been led by Republicans. -- "In the end, history is not kind to those who would deny Americans their basic economic security," Mr. Obama said. "Nobody remembers well those who stand in the way of America's progress or our people. And that's what the Affordable Care Act represents. As messy as it's been sometimes, as contentious as it has been at times, it's progress." -- During the final hours of the sign-up period, the White House reached a key target that many believed was unattainable after the disastrous rollout of HealthCare.gov late last year—surpassing the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office's initial projection that seven million would enroll in private health plans. The original estimate had been revised down to six million after technical problems hobbled the website late last year. -- The new figures didn't include the people who enrolled through more than a dozen state exchanges on Monday, White House press secretary Jay Carney said. Also, people who say they tried to sign up for health care but didn't complete the process before Monday's deadline still will be permitted to complete the process. --- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who spoke from outside the White House after having lunch with President Barack Obama, said reaching that goal was "heartwarming" for people, like her, who helped pass the health law. -- Pressed on whether the health law would hurt Democrats' chances in the midterm elections, the California Democrat said, "We're not running on health care; we're not running away from it." -- Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio), said the Affordable Care Act is harming people. "Every promise the President made has been broken: health-care costs are rising, not falling," he said in a written statement. "Americans are losing the doctors and plans that they like—especially seniors suffering under President Obama's Medicare cuts."