OK, OK, slow down. I think you're confounding a few different issues here - and the French do like to keep their bureaucratic procedures in separate little boxes.

While you are pursuing the visa to marry a French citizen and move to France, your intended needs to be pursuing the exact requirements for getting married in France. I assume you're looking at the sheet put out by the US Consulate, which is handy, but as they say, each mairie (town hall) has its own peculiarities, especially when there is a foreigner involved. Depending on where your fiancé lives, it may be necessary to reserve the mairie's wedding hall well in advance. In any event, he should get a list of what documents the mairie is going to require - of him and of you (he should mention specifically that he is marrying a foreigner).

Normally the publication of the banns only takes place about 10 days before the marriage does - and first you have to have all your marriage dossier in place. That seems a bit tight for submitting that certificate to the consulate for your visa application. Perhaps the mairie has some sort of certificate attesting to the fact that the marriage dossier is in process or the date for the wedding has been booked. But otherwise you need to push back a little on this requirement. (Are you sure they aren't asking you to have notification of the publication of banns sent to the consulate when they take place? This would make more sense.)

First you need to find out what the mairie will require from you, as a foreigner. Some of the paperwork can only be obtained from the US consulate in France, or from a dual-qualified lawyer in France (i.e. if the mairie will require a "certificat de coutume") or through a "certified" translator. The mairie may not accept translations from a US translator. (Yeah, it's a racket - get used to it if you're planning on living here.) It will take a month or so once you're over here to assemble the necessary paperwork for the marriage dossier.

For the health insurance, get yourself a travel policy that runs from your departure date to a week or so after the wedding. Once you're married, you can go onto your husband's carte vitale and he can add you to his mutuelle at work.

For the "adequate means to return to your country" a couple thousand bucks in a bank account should be just fine.

Once you're married, you have the right to work more or less right away. You may need to register with either the préfecture (i.e. to get a carte de séjour) or with the OFII (to "validate" your visa with the fact of your marriage) in order to have "proof" of your status.

Bureaucracy in France is a booming business, but take it one step at a time and don't let yourself get angry or frustrated (at least not in front of any French bureaucrats) and you should do just fine. If you run into problems (like with the request for the certificate for the publication of the banns), stay calm and just turn it around - "given that the banns are only published 10 days before the wedding and I need to be in France to prepare for the wedding, what should I do?" Drop the problem in their lap (as innocently as you can manage) and let them figure out what to do.
Cheers,
Bev