Yes, the new qdiscussionView webpart handles attachments very nicely. When you create a new discussion item or reply there is an attach file link as per below. the attachment is then associated with that discussion.
I agree, this is a very nice tool, huge improvemnt to the OTB discussion list. I see how you can attach an item to the discussion, but is there a way to display a link to the attachment in the preview pane? Thanks, R.