SAN ANTONIO — Enrollment for the Affordable Care Act started with a whimper and closed with a bang.

Despite all the technical glitches with the health website, brutal mockery and fierce partisan antagonism, more than 7.1 million people have signed up for health insurance through the law.

That surpasses original federal estimates before the website rollout woes. It's an impressive feat given the rocky start.

But wait, there is more. That enrollment number will grow. It doesn't include those who started the sign up process but couldn't finish before the enrollment deadline — a change that drives critics crazy, but is appropriate given the website's early issues and the crush of potential enrollees at the deadline.

The enrollment figure also doesn't include people with special circumstances. Several states still have open enrollment. In Bexar County, there were more than 47,000 enrollments, local officials have said. That exceeds the goal.

Republicans have been fighting the Affordable Care Act since 2010, even though the U.S. Supreme Court upheld it.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz continues to rail against Obamacare, vowing for a full repeal, deriding it as an assault on liberty.

His comments play well with his base. He has cloaked his fight in freedom from Big Government. But in essence, he is saying he would rather Texans be uninsured or underinsured. We already have enough of that.

Last we checked, nearly 6.2 million Texans do not have health insurance. This could change if the state were willing to expand Medicaid.

Under the Affordable Care Act, states have the option to expand Medicaid programs to cover low-income uninsured adults.

Texas, of course, opted not to do this, despite a favorable funding formula. The federal government provides 100 percent funding for three years and then the state's share is capped at 10 percent.

There are many details we still need to know about the 7.1 million people who signed up for health care. How many were uninsured before the law? How many have paid their first month's premiums? In many ways, these details are more significant than the enrollment numbers.

But for now, the big takeaway is this: demand for quality health care in this country is strong. Tellingly, for hours after the official cutoff for healthcare .gov, more than 100,000 people at a time were using the website.

Health coverage is going to make a huge difference for millions of Americans.

That, too, is freedom.