> further discredit the idea of impeachment

Will it? If done correctly by the Democrats (and this is a big if), it can educate people on the current situation. A big problem right now is that a lot of people aren't fully aware how fucked up and how dangerous Trump and his cronies are.

I strongly disagree. Even if the votes aren't there, the accusation can be put on the public record. Doing nothing until there are sufficient votes is far more 'stage management' that obscures the legislative decision-making process from the public. You are asking for the appearance of consensus and dismissing actual conflict/disagreement as 'theater'.

Every failed impeachment encourages future bad actors not to worry about impeachment.