Use Python's `timeit` from a program but functioning the same way as the command line?

Use Python's `timeit` from a program but functioning the same way as the
command line?

For instance, documentation says:
Note however that timeit will automatically determine the number of
repetitions only when the command-line interface is used.
Is there a way to call it from within a Python script and have the number
of repetitions be determined automatically, with only the shortest number
returned?