Honest question here, what exactly do you mean when you say "tanking for an empath"?
I am probably a bit more guilty than most of making life hard for Tankers on those occasions where I do team.
I am something of an altoholic although I have managed to focus more on one toon lately. Because I have played pretty all of the hero ATs (bar the Kheldians) up to about level 20 I like to think I have at least a small idea of what tactics help and or hinder each of them. I realise that the different sets within the ATs make a huge difference but in general terms, like I say, I have at least some idea of the major dos and donts. The big exception to this rule is the Tanker.
I have a tried to get to grips with this AT on a number of occasions and I just can't get my head around it. Because of this I have no clear idea of what sort of things I should be doing or avoiding when I team with tankers using one of my other characters. this more than any other factor i thnk means that tankers and I often have "issues".
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Honest question here, what exactly do you mean when you say "tanking for an empath"?
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Empaths dont debuff the enemy with their primary and cant fort the entire team, the heal aura is small, and the other heals are subject to reaction and one person at a time. Absorb pain can also effect their own survivability. Not just the tank needs to factor this in but the whole team. As a tank you dont get time to say to someone (unless on TS) "careful!" or "dont do that!" and with some, why not.
For one example is the difference between a tank and a team of blappers around an AV. One team with a kin and one team with an empath. The kin makes the AV do less damage and gives a greater multihit heal. The empath changes nothing to an AVs damage output and gives off a smaller multihit heal.
Blappers do more Melee damage than a tank. If tank stands with them to contribute his damage then the aoes upon the tank are upon the blappers. Either the multihit heal aura matches the level of multihit damage or it doesnt. Kins debuffing the AV and having a greater heal aura have better chance at this. Empaths are stronger in the single target heal area and the tank can make an AV hit upon him away from the team, so the rest of the team dont even need healing and the empath has better chance of matching the damage with healing. Id much rather see a team of blappers blapping with a tank taunting than a tanker hitting an AV around a few defeated blappers who all do more damage than the tanker. In all this there is also not just damage to factor in but secondary effects as well.
@lady leprechaun,
Some tanks have a certain mindset, they are meant to prevent controllers, defenders and blasters from being mullered and for some scrappers too. They logged in to bodyguard and will dislike anyone whose making their job needlessly hard to impossible. Every power has a time and place where they are very good but for tanks sometimes more of a direction. Some tanks care MORE about whether a controller in the team gets debt more than the controller does, and it could be someone else making the defeat of that controller more possible. Its an attitude thing, also to some people as a tanker, its not satisfactory to simply complete something, its better to "PWN IT!". I remember people talking about Bumber Clot on Eden Trial for weeks (i was there 
). But can you imagine say States TF being done at speed with no defeats? What tank wouldn't want bragging rights to that?..well not me being a stoic 
but more so a realist that it will take a whole team of top class players to achieve it. But i know more people who don't care about stuff like that cos its the fun involved that matters most come what may which is a shame for me .
There are also those tanks who feel they are great based upon the fact that they are still standing whilst the rest of the team are returning from hospital or they can go afk tanking an AV (no matter what will transpire)...I make no disguise of the fact i dont like this type!
He will honor his words; he will definitely carry out his actions. What he promises he will fulfill. He does not care about his bodily self, putting his life and death aside to come forward for another's troubled besiegement. He does not boast about his ability, or shamelessly extol his own virtues. - Sima Qian.
Later on ingame you may find yaself on AV teams, the tank may not let you buff who you would prior to AV and proceed to the AV who although may not necessarily spank the tank but could lay alot of damage on the rest of the team for which heal aura etc doesnt keep up with the damage (empaths dont debuff and have a worse heal aura than a kins who incidently do debuff). The tank may turn around and say somit like "we need a kin or a rad" when in fact he just needs to know how to tank for an empath.
I know what you mean about healing one target being not as exciting although it does help make you more offendary and more efficient. Having said that a tank cant save people from cones and aoes etc and so its likely that you'd have to heal people anyway. I dont know anyone who has fun or is efficient laying on their backs being defeated. DPS is poor when people are defeated and its nice when through dynamics you can have enough heal for the level of incoming damage rather than "you kept no one upstanding therefore everyone thinks its you that's off your game and its kins ftw from now on".
I do see a different dynamic to each defender in order to help make the defender look as good as they should do. A team with just an Empath going up against anything shouldn't have to necessarily mean anyone getting wiped let alone a team wipe.
Some tanks in game, i am noticing, like the best build for themselves so they dont get defeated and then play in a way that doesnt prevent other people from being defeated and there are tanks who try to keep people from being defeated but would often have one kamikazi in the team who wants his kinda fun that starts on things a tad early.
He will honor his words; he will definitely carry out his actions. What he promises he will fulfill. He does not care about his bodily self, putting his life and death aside to come forward for another's troubled besiegement. He does not boast about his ability, or shamelessly extol his own virtues. - Sima Qian.