A day without Britney Spears is like a day without, say, the Olsen Twins. Anyway, we knew it was ginseng all along. Now Britney’s decided to sue the NY Post for a retraction and some cash to heal the hurt. The paper claimed she was caught chugging whisky from an airline-size bottle and chasing it with a Red Bull outside Joe’s Liquor in Venice, California, and ran the photo at right – which clearly shows her drinking ginseng – as proof. Imagine, Britney drinking alcohol outdoors in broad daylight! Brit likes to imbibe inside, at clubs, at night. And possibly dance on the bar a little. It’s smoking she does during the day, outside or wherever. And maybe grabbing her fiance’s cock a little (see below). According to worldofbritney.com, Brit’s lawyer issued this statement: “Ms. Spears intends to file a lawsuit against the New York Post and Bill Hoffmann, the writer of the article, unless the paper immediately issues an appropriate retraction, apology and financial settlement.”

Spears’ claim she was just drinking ginseng was backed up yesterday by Arif Alam, the clerk . . . who rang up Spears’ purchases on Monday afternoon. “She did not buy any alcohol at all – no alcohol!” Alam told The News. He insisted all Spears bought was a 10-milliliter bottle of Panax Red Ginseng Extractum for $1 and a can of Red Bull energy drink. After Spears and her fiancé, Kevin Federline, left the store, a swarm of paparazzi snapped the sexy singer tippling from the miniature bottle on the sidewalk in front of the store on Lincoln Blvd.

And speaking of Federline, plans are in the works for Britney to marry him in November at the Beverly Hills Hotel, reports indystar.com by way of IMDb. Sparing no expense for this once-in-a-lifetime experience, she intends to spend $1.8 million on the event, which will include 300 bottles of Cristal and $180,000-worth of white tulips imported from Amsterdam.