Terminal Ballistics - .223 Remington

Question
I have a Ruger Mini-14 in .223 Remington with which I shoot targets and occasionally varmints.  My normal loads are 55gr JHP and 62gr JHP.  I live in the country.  Hypothetically I might need to use it for home defense.  I have read that the 55gr FMJ disintegrates on contact with the human torso at distances of 25 yards or less with little damage.  My question here is multipart.  Is the information correct?  Since I expect that any encounter would likely be less than 25 yards, would either of the JHP loads be useful other than to possibly scare the attacker?  Does the hypothetical situation require an M855 equivalent  with the penetrator (green tip?) to be effective?  Thank you for sharing your expertise.

Answer
The .223 is a very effective round. The military uses the 5.6mm round which is the equivilant of the .223 civilian round. A AR-15 style rifle chambered in .223 will turn away everything short of a full grown bear from your door! The round is quite lethal to the human body, you should google for some studies the military did on that round and why they chose it. Best of luck!