What Linux distro should I use...

Maybe these snippets help you admit your ignorance. And yes, this feature has been there since years.

Code:

/**
 * Compile with
 * gcc -g -masm=intel hello.c -o hello
 */

#include <unistd.h>
#include <sys/syscall.h>

int main(void)
{
    char message[] = "Hello World\n";

    asm("mov     eax, %0 \n\t"
        "mov     edi, %1 \n\t"
        "mov     rsi, %2 \n\t"
        "mov     edx, %3 \n\t"
        "syscall \n\t"
        :: "i" (__NR_write), "i" (STDOUT_FILENO), "g" (message), "i" (sizeof(message)-1)
        : "eax", "edi", "rsi", "edx");

    return 0;
}

or a simple assembly code, which you can even debug with gdb, just set a break-point at _start, and run.

Code:

/**
 * Compile with
 * gcc -g -nostdlib hello.S -o hello
 */

        .if 0
#include <unistd.h>
#include <sys/syscall.h>
        .endif

        .line __LINE__
        .intel_syntax noprefix
        .text
        .globl _start

_start:
        mov     eax, __NR_write
        mov     edi, STDOUT_FILENO
        mov     rsi, offset message
        mov     edx, offset message.size
        syscall
        xor     edi, edi
        mov     rax, __NR_exit
        syscall

message:
        .ascii "Hello World\n"
message.size = . - message

Note that in last example even C-headers are included. Try it with fasm. If you're wondering I can show you how you can reach C-structure members from assembly when you mix C and assembly codes.