PHP 5.3 support for Drupal 6.x

I was reading an issue about a module not functioning under php 5.3 (http://drupal.org/node/626350)
and then I read this :

PHP 5.3 is not currently supported by Drupal 6.x - http://drupal.org/requirements

Does this mean Drupal 6x ceases to function enough that is necessary to run a Drupal 6x site under php 5.3 ?
There is high chance that many hosts will be advancing their versions (while some may have already done) of php as php 6x looms large on the horizon. While, on the other hand, D7 is months if not years (taking into consideration the modules one may need) away for a production-ready release and even then it will be very buggy or bumpy for some or many of us so that we will be stuck with D6 for quite sometime.
That php 5.3 was not there at the time of D6's birth does not help to solve the problem but merely states the problem. Rolling back to php5.2 is not a solution as with many shared hosts or hybrids we just do not have that option.

It will be very good or essential to know

How much we can run D6 on php5.3 or later versions ?
Can there be a list of D6 modules that are not functioning with php 5.3 or will not function ?
Can there be a "module" to combat these so that D6 can run well in php 5.3 or later ?
Can there be a list like API etc that lists module or functions incompatible with php5.3 or later?
Can there be a group / chipin / bounty / whatever so that this issue is promoted seriously and dealt with promptly ?

Edited : Just now I found this issue http://drupal.org/node/360605
Any more issues or SOLUTIONs will be so very helpful.