"The poor who can't afford it is where the problem lies, if they can't afford health insurance then how are they expected to pay these "fines" when they still don't get health insurance."
Once the healthcare exchanges are up and running, the cost to join will be a sliding scale based on income. And the problem is multi-facted; the poor who can't afford healthcare are using more expensive emergency treatment, and many young, healthy people are opting to drop coverage.
"If I choose not to get health care, it should be my issue not the governments..."
That's a pivotal point, but the government already compels us to pay into Medicare and Social Security, so while you may disagree with the merits of the mandate, this law was not an expansion of the government's role.
"It doesn't matter who is in charge, Obama, a republican, whoever. They are all the same in the end."
If you look at the details of the law, it really is an amalgamation of liberal and conservative ideas, and the mandate was always promoted by the right, that is until it was included in the law.
"It does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are 20 gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg."
-- Thomas Jefferson