shelleeson, what I'm trying to point out to you is that your wii is your property and not the big N's. Sure the warranty is void by modding it, sure they can attempt to restrict it by blocking online play, by circumventing the chip, refining new processes etc, but they cannot damage the machine in any way, unless it is by accident of course because they cannot account for your modified hardware.
edit: and I'm not exactly seeing hordes of people saying they will sue Nintendo or anything - we're just discussing the possible actions Nintendo can take, in our limited legal knowledge - from there we can perhaps better understand what they would be likely to do with any countermeasures they make seek to employ.