Working with a billion rows

[Mike Mullins]

My goal is to use a MySQL database to prevent users from using a password that exists in a password dictionary. The dictionary that I want to use has about a billion entries. Getting the data in is one obstacle, but the most important is efficient searching.

1. Is this feasible?
2. What are my options for table design? One table, multiple?
3. What's the best way to get the data in?
4. How can I optimize search?

I've used MySQL peretty heavily for basic data sets. This is my first foray into the world of large databases. My frontend will be PHP. I can use whatever (free) MySQL version that is recommended but I'm not inclined to switch to a different SQL.

Thanks for any tips.