The problem I've found with this statement is that then no one ever changes formatting for fear of "messing up blame for the affected lines," and then no reform

The problem I've found with this statement is that then no one ever changes formatting for fear of "messing up blame for the affected lines," and then no reformatting ever gets done. At some point, take the leap and do it (assuming you're not completely changing the formatting of the entire file/project/what-have-you).