Justice League of America, indeed

Sen. Patrick Leahy spent a night in Chicago last year getting roughed up by Heath Ledger.

And the 68-year-old Judiciary Committee chairman loved every minute of it.

For lifelong Batman fan Leahy, it was a memorable cameo appearance in “The Dark Knight,” opening in theaters today.

The Vermont Democrat appears in a key scene in which the Joker (Ledger) and his minions invade a cocktail party hosted by Bruce Wayne, alias Batman (Christian Bale).

“At one point, they shoved me so hard that I fell over, which wasn’t in the script,” says Leahy, who ended up with a sore shoulder.

“When Heath Ledger got into character, he would scare the heck out of you. Out of character, he was just a very nice, pleasant person.”

Ledger, who died in January of a drug overdose, even apologized to Leahy’s wife.

“She told him, ‘That’s all right. It’s for a good cause,’ ” Leahy says.

Leahy donated his $2,000 in wages from the film to the children’s department of the Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier, Vt., where he learned how to read as a boy.

Aren’t we the catty woman?

Katherine Heigl is sticking with “Grey’s Anatomy” despite her displeasure about last season’s scripts, ABC says.

“There’s an unbelievable story line for her this year, which is really central to everything that’s going to go on this season,” says Entertainment President Stephen McPherson.

Heigl said she didn’t put her name in for one of the Emmy nominations announced Thursday because of the poor material she worked with.

Turning to Spider-Man …

Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert may not have received an Emmy nomination, but he is getting a spider named after him.

East Carolina University associate professor Jason Bond, who recently named a spider after veteran rocker Neil Young, has offered to do the same for the “Colbert Report” host.

On the show, he said: “The world demands an eight-legged tribute to Stephen Colbert and I do not mean another barbershop quartet!”

No ‘Candy in the Wind’?

In honor of Elton John’s first performance in the state, Vermont-based Ben & Jerry’s created a new flavor: “Goodbye Yellow Brickle Road.”

The blend of chocolate ice cream, peanut butter cookie dough, butter brickle and white chocolate chunks is available only in the company’s Vermont scoop shops, with proceeds benefiting the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

New York state of demise

Billy Joel today will play the final concert at New York City’s Shea Stadium.

The home of baseball’s Mets, which will be razed after this season after 43 years, also has hosted the likes of Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, the Who, the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen – not to mention the Beatles.

The birthday bunch

Director Paul Verhoeven (“Basic Instinct,” “Showgirls”) is 70. Actor James Brolin is 68. Singer Martha Reeves (Martha and the Vandellas) is 67. Country singer Ricky Skaggs is 54. Actress Elizabeth McGovern is 47. Actor Vin Diesel is 41. Actress Kristen Bell (“Veronica Mars”) is 28. Singer Ryan Cabrera is 26. Actor Chace Crawford (“Gossip Girl”) is 23.