Five and a half years! How long do you keep your cell phone? Are you upgrading from the Nokia 5110?
I don't know what the LED circuitry is either, but I would think it's defined more as a backlight than flash circuity. I've used Moto Torch on my Droid X quite a few times. It's very handy to always have a flashlight with you, when you don't have a flashlight with you. Never had any issues, but I've never had it on more that probably 30 seconds. The high intensity dual LED on the DX tends to get warm after a while. All that being said, yes, used as a flashlight isn't the intended function and you could be taking the health of the flash at risk.
P.S. - I love this thread! I want my Verizon SIII!