March 29, 2004 -- EVEN as members of the FCC and Congress conspire to keep programming they find disagreeable off the airwaves, radio badboys "Opie and Anthony" are planning a triumphant return.

Greg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia's raunchy syndicated afternoon radio show was pulled off the air by Infinity Broadcasting after they carried the sounds of a couple simulating sex in St. Patrick's Cathedral in 2002.

The pair haven't been on the air since because Infinity continued to pay off their lucrative contract. But that contract expires in June, and the shock jocks are ready to get back to work.

Although it's not clear what stations will pick them up, comedian Jim Norton, who was a regular on the show, is confident of their comeback. "It's either June 1 or Oct. 1, depending on the no-compete clause in New York, but they will absolutely be back on," he tells PAGE SIX.

"They were never fired. Not only did they get paid in full, but they got a raise last June," says Norton. "They're making more now being off the radio than they made in the first two years combined on air."

Norton, a regular on Comedy Central's "Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn," says the deejays will come on "everywhere in the country" June 1 and hit New York Oct. 1. "They'll broadcast out of New York regardless of where they're on and they just won't play it in New York until October."

Opie and Anthony's agent, Robert Eatman, says, "That's not necessarily the case. I hope it is the case, we're hopeful that's going to happen." But, he says, they don't have any firm station deals in place at the moment.

It's provocative odd timing, as the Senate is set to vote on a so-called "anti-obscenity" bill that civil libertarians say is patently unconstitutional and will serve a severe blow to First Amendment rights.

The bill has already passed in the House, and Howard Stern has vowed to stop broadcasting if it becomes law. Stern has spent the last few weeks railing against the bill, and says his show is being targeted for termination by certain members of Congress and the FCC for coming out against President Bush last month.

Many political experts say that the targeting of Stern and the recent "obscenity" hysteria could cost Bush white male voters across several key age demographics.