>> If the House of Representatives had any moral courage, they would completely defund the IRS in the next round of appropriations. They have the power, but I doubt they have the courage.

It could conceivably happen. Except for some outliers, many of the people who would have to sign off - the House, the Senate and the President, are either millionaires or billionaires so they wouldn't miss their salaries if the IRS stopped functioning and couldn't collect taxes.
John Kerry's wife could probably support the entire State Department for a while.
Many of the outliers are supported by the Koch brothers, Sheldon Adelson, Woody Johnson and the like - all of whom would gain zillions if the IRS disappeared - so they'd probably find a way to muddle through with no paycheck.
I noted that the ex-fierce IRS opponent Eric Cantor's losing campaign spent $170K in one DC steakhouse (that must be an awesome steak) so there's plenty of money around to tide things over.
Eric, however, might rethink things now that he's unemployed and eating at Wendy's.
It might be hard on some GI's, air traffic controllers, forest rangers, mail carriers, etc. but most of those people are either pro-IRS and/or don't vote.
I doubt that any of them got one of those steaks.