Judge Judy is getting some new competition from former Atlanta prosecutor Nancy Grace!

The host of CNN’s Headline News is getting ready to dethrone Judge Judy Sheindlin as head b*tch-in-charge on courtroom TV, industry insiders gush on the pages of the Oct. 26 issue of GLOBE.

Industry buzz claims the acid-tongued Grace — a 50-year-old new mother of two — donned a black robe to film the CBS pilot Swift Justice with Nancy Grace earlier this month. Spies say Nancy will be settling real-life legal disputes on her new show — and she’s already set her sights on stealing Judge Judy’s 6.5 million viewer strong audience. But that may prove no easy feat — even for Nancy. Judge Judy was the most-watched program on daytime TV in 2008, dropping the Queen of Talk Oprah Winfrey and her long-running gabfest to second place.

Nancy, who specializes in sounding off on real-life crime dramas, became interested in law after her fiance was murdered by one her co-workers in 1979.

“Nancy is incredibly competitive and intends to steal Judge Judy’s thunder,” says a tattling tipster. “It’s going to be a bitter battle between two of the strongest women on television. Other female judges, including Marilyn Milian and Glenda Hatchett tried — and failed — to knock Judy off her perch. But Grace really has a good shot — she’s bringing a small but rabid fanbase to her new program, which will debut next year.”

Would you watch a courtroom drama starring Nancy Grace?